Merry Christmas Everybody!

Well, thanks for the get out clause Jo, my excuse is that the last ten days at work all got a bit hectic. There was the office party of course, which I told you I was going to in my last post, then there were the numerous versions of the timetable I had to complete, the obligatory end of term meetings to attend and a rather lovely mince pie and mulled wine evening at a friend's house.

Here are some pictures of the office party. The theme was black and silver - which meant we all had to wear those colours and all the decor was done in black and silver. We all got our faces painted on arrival and were presented with a gift and a raffle ticket. Not bad eh? I won a t-shirt. :)


It was really rather good and I discovered the otherwise hidden talents of some of my colleagues. Here are some of them in the talent competition.

The band was fantastic. Most of them were teachers.


I was really quite proud of them. They did mostly cover versions of hits like “Talking ‘bout a revolution”, “Hey, What’s goin’ on” – a personal favourite of mine, especially to dance and sing to when a little squiffy. You know the one by 4 non blonds – here’s how it starts:
“25 years and my life is still
Trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination…..”

To add to the list, I had the fortunate task of going to visit a dear colleague of mine in hospital. I say fortunate as that is the only way to look at it. He is lucky to be alive. He and a few others were driving back on the Kandy road on their motorbikes, when he skidded on some sand on the road and got knocked over by a lorry. He has a rather messy right arm which had to be operated on hours later in Colombo but the ordeal and the injuries might have been a lot worse. It always seems that amongst all the jollity of the festive season there is usually a note of sadness, whether personal or something more public like the Tsunami in 2004. Is it so, or is it just that anything sad that happens seems more tragic at this time of year?

On a more cheerful note, I got my Christmas cards off – just in time! How do I know this? – because I have been receiving phone calls and email messages yesterday and today thanking me for the card. What luck!

So, what are you going to watch on the telly this year? Come on, do tell – confess your most watched Christmas classic/festive film. Mine are A Bridge Too Far, which my dad always calls “a star too far” because there’s just about everyone working in Hollywood at that time in it, from Robert Redford and Steve McQueen to Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery, and when I was a kid I never failed to see The Wizard of Oz. I think this year it will have to be Miracle on 34th Street or something equally awful. (That's all I've seen advertised on the local TV station. We haven't got satellite or cable). I might put on my DVD of White Christmas though. My favourite Christmas tale is A Christmas Carol – I love the book and the various film versions. Then again, may just forget the whole thing and go down to Mount Lavinia beach.

Whatever your plans are for Christmas, have a safe and joyful time. Turkey or no turkey, we all could do with a good dose of jollity. We will be thinking of all you bloggers and missing our families. I can’t get too maudlin though as my dad is coming out on January 4th and we will have a reunion then.:)


Some replies
Cheikh Vall, sorry I can’t help you out there.
Tiasha, send me some of that date and pineapple chutney right now! Or at least the recipe :)
Anita, Cointreau is a spirit produced in France, made from oranges and is simply delicious. Sorry about the misspelling. Don’t know what I was thinking.
Fillipo, yes the wine did go down well. We used about 7 litres of it!

Words/phrases from last entry
• A good turnout – plenty of people
• Die-hards – those who refuse to surrender (or go home in this case!:))
• Taking a dip – plunge briefly into
• Took a paddle – wade, take a walk about in the sea with short steps (usually no more than knee deep)
• Lethal – deadly – metaphorical in this case
• In the name of a good cause – a valid or sufficient reason for doing something, a bit of a hackneyed phrase sometimes used tongue in cheek. You might hear people say it like this: “all in the name of a good cause I suppose” with a falling tone.

Happy Christmas Eve,

Best wishes to you and your families

Helen x

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